Landlords prepare to do battle over city’s proposed HMO licencing extension

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords in Nottingham are preparing to fight an extension of the city’s additional licensing scheme, weeks after the council was warned that a second selective licensing scheme would prompt many to quit the sector.

The current additional scheme, covering parts of central Nottingham, will soon come to an end and the council hopes to introduce a new citywide scheme, which would run for five years from January 2024.

Nottingham Council insists that its current additional scheme has had a positive impact on HMOs, including tackling problems with waste management and anti-social behaviour.

Vocal

Landlord group EMPO has been vocal in its opposition of the new selective scheme and business development manager Giles Inman says he’s astonished at council plans to vote an additional scheme through.

“You would have thought that after 10 years, the schemes would have achieved their desired outcomes by now and clearly that isn’t the case,” he tells the Nottingham Post.

“We have tenancy agreements and so they know what clauses are within those but when it comes to tackling serious anti-social behaviour, that should not be a matter for the landlords,” he says.

“There is also the issue that if someone is presenting with serious anti-social behavioral tendencies, landlords may not have the necessary skill set to deal with those.”

Councillor Toby Neal (pictured), the portfolio holder for housing and human resources, says: “The council believes the introduction of a new licensing scheme would not only bring benefits for tenants and local communities, but also landlords who, by obtaining a licence, will be able to clearly demonstrate to prospective tenants that they meet required standards.”

If it gets the go-ahead at an executive meeting on Tuesday, a consultation would run throughout March, with the scheme coming in next January, if approved.

Read more: A complete guide to running an HMO.

View Full Article: Landlords prepare to do battle over city’s proposed HMO licencing extension

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!